1.2 | Soulmates For Sale

IV. potion of the inhibited

A/N:

im trying to blend in indian culture as much as i can and i'm really having fun with it. keep commenting and voting! thank you for reading x

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POTION OF THE INHIBITED

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AIRAA REALIZED she had made a huge mistake by giving away her name. She didn't take Jasper to be clever and sneaky and that was completely on her.

She should have known.

She should've known that the only mutual link between him and her was fucking Zim and that girl was putty when it came to Jasper. Airaa was dumb enough to not predict that Zim would tell him all that she knew about her. She should be relieved that Zim's brain worked enough to hide the details about her potion business but all she could feel was an uncontrollable urge to smack that girl with a chair.

"If that spoon had a mouth, it would be screaming Bloody Murder now!"

Airaa glanced up at her mother, who lent her an amusing smile and pried the spoon and the empty plate from her grip. "Anything I should know about?" she asked from the kitchen.

"No, nothing. It's just... a tiny issue I have to deal with. It'll be alright. How are you feeling? Your face seems a little better." She touched her cheeks. "I heard you vomiting last night. I was worried."

Her mother's health was leaning towards alarming faster than she'd expected. There wasn't a day that went by in her life that she didn't worry about her mother. She had searched archives, books, online websites and articles for an antidote for severe camphor-wood poisoning but the damage was too far gone. Her mother's liver and her nervous system seemed to be failing, putting her through tiring days and nights full of seizures and body pain. Placing her under medical treatment would eat away their savings so she was working her ass off to save more.

"I'm fine, kanna. Don't worry about me," her mother said.

"If only you aren't this stubborn to continue brewing potions. It's killing you, Ma."

"That doesn't help our situation, na?"

"You have to stop it with this batch. We will have enough to sell for this month. Then we'll move towns and start something new. Maybe my very own baking business. That was the plan and you promised. Right? Somehow, we'll live comfortably. It's not like we don't have money at all. We have enough to last us one year without doing an ounce of work!"

Her mother laughed. "Of course, of course. I have eight more vials to finish today and I will never touch my cauldron ever again. I'll melt the damn thing and burn the ingredients if you like."

Airaa hugged her tight and pressed a kiss to her shoulders, feeling the fabric of the salwar hang loose around her mother's frail frame. "I love you. You know that, right? You are the only thing I love in this entire world."

Her mother kissed the crown of her forehead and combed the hair out of her eyes. "I know. But, I don't mind sharing it with somebody else. When I'm gone – "

"I'll think about it when that happens. Bye, I'll buy dinner when I come back tonight. Also, I'll clean your lab later." Airaa kissed her mother's cheek and slipped out of her house. When she shut the door behind her, she swallowed the tears down her throat and slammed her jaws together. No crying today. No.